1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for the continuous echo analysis of a body of liquid. In particular, the present invention relates to a system for the continuous echo analysis of a body of liquid, surrounded by walls of known dimension, for the presence of an object, said system comprising:
a pulse generating component comprising an electronic circuit capable of generating pulse information; PA1 a transmitting component operatively connected to said pulse generating component and said body of liquid, capable of activation by the pulse information of said pulse generating component and translating said pulse information into intermittent instigative pulses of sonic energy emitted into said body of liquid, PA1 a receiving component operatively connected to said body of liquid and capable of receiving said set of echo information generated by each sonic energy pulse and translating that set of echo information into an electronic signal representing a waveform equivalent of that set of echo information; PA1 an analysis component comprising a microprocessor-controlled electronic circuit operatively connected to said receiving component and capable of receiving the electronic signals representing each equivalence waveform and comparing said waveform against stored data representing at least one previous equivalence waveform to determine variance, and providing an activation signal when the variance exceeds a predetermined settling; and, PA1 an alarm component operatively connected to said analysis component, capable of providing alarm notification in a selected manner upon receiving an activation signal from said analysis component. PA1 a pulse generating component comprising an electronic circuit capable of generating pulse information; PA1 a transmitting component operatively connected to said pulse generating component and said body of liquid, capable of activation by the pulse information of said pulse generating component and translating said pulse information into intermittent instigative pulses of sonic energy emitted into said body of liquid, PA1 a receiving component operatively connected to said body of liquid and capable of receiving said set of echo information generated by each sonic energy pulse and translating that set of echo information into an electronic signal representing a waveform equivalent of that set of echo information; PA1 an analysis component comprising a microprocessor-controlled electronic circuit operatively connected to said receiving component and capable of receiving the electronic signals representing each equivalence waveform and comparing said waveform against stored data representing at least one previous equivalence waveform to determine variance, and providing an activation signal when the variance exceeds a predetermined settling; and, PA1 an alarm component operatively connected to said analysis component, capable of providing alarm notification in a selected manner upon receiving an activation signal from said analysis component.
wherein said pulses of sonic energy sequentially permeate said body of liquid, reflecting off said walls and any object within said body of liquid, and returning as a set of echo information;
2. Description of Related Art
Monitoring water by the use of sonic means is not novel in the industry. For many decades sonic pulses have been used to locate the bottom of bodies of water and in recent application have been used to locate bodies of mass floating at different levels within such a body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,859 to Clifford G. Arnell is entitled WATER ENTRY ALARM SYSTEM. This reference shows a water-activated sonar transmitter to be worn on the body which emits a low-frequency audio signal upon immersion. An underwater microphone, or hydrophone, is connected to a receiver circuit, which then produces an alarm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,705 to Elkana Rooz and Isaac Ben-Sira is entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING A MOTIONLESS BODY IN A POOL. This reference shows a sonar detector system which scans a swimming pool at successive time intervals to identify common contours. A contour which remains motionless for a successive period of time is detected and an alarm is sounded.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,009 to Thomas E. Lynch is entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING SWIMMERS. This reference shows a plurality of pairs of transducers arranged on opposite sides of the body of water. Pulsed sequential excitation of the transducers is employed to monitor the body of water. A person disposed between a pair of transducers interrupts the transmission of ultrasonic waves, and an alarm is triggered.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,091 to Olin A. Lively is entitled CONTROL CIRCUITRY FOR WATER LEVEL CONTROL OF POOLS. This reference shows circuitry for automatically controlling the water level of a swimming pool with a multi-level detecting sensor for directly sensing the pool water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,012 to Paul A. Baump, Don Lyu, Jerry T. Sain, and Richard A. Zbriger is entitled ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM. This reference shows an access control system for controlling and monitoring access to selected restricted areas and "alarm" conditions at such areas.